


There's Some Darkness In You

by blackfin



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst and Feels, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Little bit of angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 08:44:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11055417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackfin/pseuds/blackfin
Summary: Link is known as the bright and colorful Champion of Hyrule so how would Prince Sidon react to seeing him taken over by Dark Link?





	There's Some Darkness In You

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in response to a prompt on tumblr, which was pretty much along the lines of the description  
> I actually don't know that much about Dark Link - the research that I did turned up the answer that it's the manifestation of the darkness inside of him so I went with that  
> Currently accepting commissions, check my tumblr for more details  
> This has been cross posted on my tumblr, s-aizo, so it's over there

For a moment, his mind couldn’t comprehend what his eyes were seeing. 

Standing, slack jawed, several paces from the slow moving river, an uncomfortable tenseness settling into his muscles, Sidon stared mutely at the figure standing knee deep in the water. The figure was looking straight back at him with wide, startled eyes. In his hands was a cloth that he had been wringing out when Sidon had appeared - his fingers were now tightly clenched into the fabric, his entire body language that of a cornered prey animal, screaming that any moment, he was going to turn and run. 

The figure looked like Link. Sidon had spent more than enough time studying Link’s body and facial figures that he could easily recognize him but this figure..was not the Link he knew. His skin was as dark as the midnight, moonless sky. The eyes that were returning his stare glowed bright red like a blood moon. Once straw yellow blonde hair was now as white as bone, standing out in stark contrast against dark, dusky skin. Everything about this figure was the complete opposite to how Link normally was - an absolute contrast to the Hero of Hyrule. 

And yet, his mind was insisting that this was Link. His eyes lighted upon the familiar shape of the eyes, nose and mouth; his nose picked up on the subtle but still present hints of Link’s familiar scent. Despite the very noticeable differences from the Link he knew and the one currently standing in front of him, there was no doubt in his mind that the figure was his Link. 

Taking a slow, cautious step forward, he softly said, “Link?”

A tremor ran through Link’s body. To his dismay, his little Hylian took a step back, away from Sidon. His face, which had previously been slack jawed with surprise was beginning to morph into one of profound alarm. Even more so than before, the tenseness in Link’s body clearly communicated that he was about to flee. Where to, Sidon wasn’t sure and why, he couldn’t say either. 

Slowly, he held his arms out to Link and, without breaking their gaze, cooed in a gentle, soothing tone, “It’s alright, little one. It’s alright. It’s me, it’s just me.”

He took another step forward, resisting the urge to simply rush forward and gather his little Hylian up in his arms. The look on his face - that expression of fear and dread - it was breaking his heart. He didn’t understand what was going on but the moment, he didn’t care. All he wanted to do was reassure and comfort Link. 

“Stay away!” Link cried, his voice high pitched and cracking with distress. “Don’t come close to me!”

Sidon froze, the raw emotions in Link’s voice making his blood run cold. His heart clenched in his chest, as though someone had reached through his ribs and wrapped their first tightly around the pumping muscle. Swallowing hard, he struggled to smile as comfortingly as possible as his little Hylian, “Link-”

“Don’t.” Link whimpered, backing up even further. Even though they were some distance apart, Sidon could clearly see how violently he was shaking, “Stay away.”

There was no doubt in his mind that Link was planning on running away. When a frightened animal is backed into a corner, that was usually the option chosen. That, or fight and he didn’t think Link was going to take that route. No, if Sidon pushed this, he was going to run. That was something he couldn’t allow to happen. He didn’t understand what was going on but that didn’t matter much to him. Link was terrified out of his mind - that was all he cared about. He couldn’t let him face whatever this was alone. 

But it was clear his words weren’t getting through. Not that he could blame his little Hylian for something like that. In such a badly panicked state, it’s hard to think of anything other than the terror thundering through your veins. That, however, left him with an issue. If his voice alone wasn’t enough, he might not have any other choice than to charge him. Link was quick but there was nowhere for him to go. Neither the water nor land were viable escape routes as Sidon could easily catch up to him on both. Not to mention, Link’s panic was going to give him the advantage. Though, he doubted his little Hylian was thinking of any of those things. 

Straightening his back, he took in a deep, slow breath, let it out slowly before saying in the calmest voice he could manage, “Link, come here.”

Link stared silently at him for a moment more, his expression terrified and conflicted, before swiftly turning away, clear with the intention to dive into the water. Without a moment’s hesitation, Sidon dashed forward, and within a single breath, he had closed the distance between them, his arms snapping out to quickly wrap around Link’s trembling waist. He had gotten lucky. The moment Link had turned around, one of his legs had bent awkwardly, causing him to stumble slightly which had given Sidon more than enough time to reach him. Ignoring his panicked yelp, Sidon wrenched him up, out of the water and took several steps backs, tightening his arms into an unbreakable vice as Link immediately began to struggle. Link was strong, but had never been able to match Sidon’s power. He easily outweighed him and with his arms tightly wound around the small Hylian’s body, the most he would do was squirm in his locked embrace. 

“No!” He shrieked hysterically, “It’ll spread to you! Sidon! Please!”

Continuing to ignore his protests for the moment, Sidon carefully strode back to the shore, ensuring his grip never lessened nor slipped, despite the pain pulsing in his heart at hearing his beloved Link cry out in such a way. Now on solid land, he moved away from the water before sitting down, cradling Link close to his chest, enclosing his legs around him, though still giving him enough room so that he didn’t feel completely trapped. In his arms, the Hylian was still struggling and exclaiming that ‘it’ was going to spread to Sidon, to poison him. 

Leaning down, he pressed his lips close to Link’s ear and whispered in a strong, intense tone, “Stop.”

Surprisingly, that seemed to be enough as Link immediately went still, his chest heaving, tears streaming down from his blood red eyes. Keeping one arm still tightly wrapped around his waist, Sidon held out the other to shove him that there was nothing on his skin, not a speck nor smear of black. Reaching forward slightly, he took one of Link’s shaking hands in his own, swiped the pad of his thumb over his knuckles before once again showing that whatever it was that was ailing Link was not affecting him. 

“See?” He whispered, pressing a soft, comforting kiss against Link’s hot cheek, “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

Link stared blankly at Sidon’s hand for several moments, his breath slowly calming down to a normal pace before all the tension fled his body and he went limp in Sidon’s arms. Slightly loosening his hold around his waist, ready to tighten them again if Link made any move to escape, Sidon pressed a few more light, gentle kisses along the side of his head before whispering, “You’re alright, you’re okay, I’ve got you. I’m right here, my love. Just talk to me, tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know.” Link replied softly, after a while of silence, his thick heavy with repressed sobs, “I was in a shrine, there was this vat of black goo that I tried to cross but I fell in. When I got out, this started happening.” he raised his shaking hands out in front of him, “It started at the tips of my fingertips before slowly spreading to the rest of me. I tried to wash it off but that didn’t work. I don’t know what this is, Sidon.”

“Do you feel sick at all?” He asked, rubbing his fingers in large, easy circles on the back of Link’s hand. Black goo - the only thing he could think of that being was the corruption often seen around the towers. He had little knowledge of the substance, though he knew it shouldn’t be touched as the nasty material harmed organic matter. If Link wasn’t harmed, it must be either a different type of corruption or was something else entirely. 

“A little woozy and nauseous but I don’t honestly know if it’s because of this.”

“Alright, that means whatever it is, it isn’t immediately dangerous.” Sidon replied, relief evident in his voice, “I take it you’ve been like this for a while?”

“Couple hours, I think.” 

“If it does have an effect, it’s slow acting. What we’re going to do now is go to my Father. He might have some idea of what this is and what to do about it.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Link asked after a tense moment of silence, his voice soft. 

“Then we find someone who does.” Sidon replied simply, standing up, still holding Link firmly in his arms. 

Truth be told, he wasn’t certain himself whether or not his Father would have an answer. He had never seen anything like this, so the possibility of his Father knowing, it was most likely slim at best. Still, he couldn’t allow Link to catch on to that. Despite his own unease with the entire thing, he needed to remain the constant calm pillar of strength in Link’s eyes. 

“Can you walk?” He asked gently, though he didn’t want to put him down, partly out of fear that he’d run again but mostly because he just didn’t want to let go of him. Still, he wanted to give Link the option so he wouldn’t feel like he was being treated like a child. 

Link remained quiet for a moment before slowly shaking his head, “I’d prefer this, if that’s alright.”

“Of course,” Sidon said soothingly, leaning down to lovingly nuzzle the side of Link’s head. Slipping one arm underneath his knees, he carefully situated his little Hylian until he was comfortably cradled in his arms. Pausing for a moment so he could swoop once again and place a quick, soft kiss against Link’s trembling lips, he whispered, “Everything will be alright. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Straightening up, he began walking back towards the path he came from. Link snuggled closer to him, his body still slightly trembling. They traveled in silence for a long while, both lost in their own thoughts. His own mind was occupied in trying to figure out just what he was going to do if his Father didn’t know what this was or what to do about it. Link had mentioned some scientists who researched ancient artifacts, they might have some idea. There was also Impa, an elder Sheikah - he felt for certain that if his Father didn’t know, she was their best bet. 

And if she somehow didn’t know, he would try asking the Gerudos next, then the Ritos, then the Gorons and if nowhere turned up an answer, he’d find someone, anyone who could tell them what this was. If there was no answer...he didn’t want to think about that happening. He didn’t mind the change in appearance, Link would always be Link to him but if this was some kind of corruption, he couldn’t imagine what it might be doing to his body. The best case scenario was that it was harmless, but he wasn’t very hopeful. 

“Sidon.” Link suddenly spoke up softly. 

“Yes, my love?”

“You weren’t frightened of me, were you?” The way he spoke sounded like he was posing it less as an actual question, but rather affirming something he already knew. 

“No, I wasn’t. I will admit, I was startled as this is a rather large change from how you regularly look but never frightened.” 

Link was quiet for a long while, before he quietly spoke up once more, “This doesn’t bother you, does it?”

“It bothers me in the sense that I don’t know what this is doing to you. If this is physically harming you, I want to be rid of it. If it isn’t, then my only concern is how you feel about it. Other than that, no, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest.”

“How can it not? Look at me!” Link held his hands in front of him, stretching out his fingers so that Sidon could see every inch of his dusky skin. 

“All I see is you. Why would you think this would change anything?”

“I look like a demon!” Link spat, his voice trembling. “How could that not change anything?!”

Coming to a stop, Sidon put Link back down onto the ground, turned him around before straightening up and looked down at him with a calm gaze, “I’ll ask you again. Why would you think this would change anything? Your outward appearance is not indicative of who you are so why would I allow my perception of you to alter based on that?”

Link didn’t answer. Instead, he stared down at the ground, his head bowed forward far enough that Sidon couldn’t see his face at all. Resisting the urge to reach out to gently stroke Link’s hair, Sidon patiently gazed down at him, waiting for him to figure out what it was he wanted to say. In the meantime, his mind considered Link calling himself a demon. If he were being completely honest, he could somewhat understand Link viewing himself in such a way. With those eyes, he couldn’t deny it was like gazing into the eyes of a monster. 

But, in this case, the eyes weren’t mirrors of the soul. That face, that voice, the person himself was still Link, unchanged from the altruistic, headstrong, constant hero he has always been. 

“I’m not as pure as you think I am.” Link suddenly spoke up. 

“Eh?” Sidon replied in surprise. 

“I’m not-” Link paused, pulled in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, “There’s darkness in me, Sidon. Anger, hate, guilt and terror, they’re all inside me, constantly pushing at the back of my mind. This,” he held out his hands, “is just a representation of that. A representation of the darkness inside of me.”

Sidon paused for a moment before tilting his head slightly, “What on earth gave you the notion that I thought you were pure?”

A jolt raced through Link’s body. His head shot up, eyes wide with surprise and distress, his mouth opening to speak but Sidon lifted a hand to stop him. Shaking his head slowly, he sighed, feeling guilty for having spoken without thinking of what he was saying and certain that his folly had greatly hurt Link, “I apologize, those weren’t the right words to use. Rather, what I was trying to ask was why you thought I would view as someone who couldn’t have those kinds of feelings?”

The pain eased out of Link’s face, his expression morphing into one of profound confusion. Sighing again, Sidon knelt down in front of his little Hylian, reached forward to take his hands into his own and continued, “Link, just because you’re the Hero of Light doesn’t mean that you will ever be someone without some darkness in your soul. No one will ever be free of anger, of hurting - that is simply how the world is. And given what you’ve endured up until this point, I would say that it’s perfectly natural for you to be angry, to feel hateful towards those that have put you in such a position, to feel grief over all you’ve lost and terror of the weight on your shoulders. I simply don’t understand why you would think that just because of you are in the position of Champion of Hyrule, that would mean you are exempt from those types of feelings?”

Link stared blankly up at him for several moments before, to his surprise, he ripped his hands away from Sidon’s, anger filling his face, and took several steps backwards. 

“No!” He cried, his voice cracking, “I’m not supposed to feel like this. I’m the hero! The Champion! This isn’t-I’m not-!”

“Enough.” Sidon commanded, his voice sterner than he had intended, though it had the desired effect. 

Link immediately froze, his shoulders heaving, tears streaming down his cheeks. With his hands clenched hard by his sides, he let his head fall forward and spat out, “I don’t have the option to feel like this. I can’t afford to fall.”

Stepping forward, Sidon reached forward, took hold of Link’s chin and wrenched his head up. The face that met his gaze held an expression of utter conflict. Sidon could easily see the chaos running amok in Link’s mind in those red eyes. To his surprise, he could swear that his eyes had darkened and the color of his skinned looked to have deepened as well. A thought suddenly popped into his head, an idea of what could be happening with Link appearance wise. Keeping his expression stern, he leaned down until his face was just inches from Link’s and said softly, “You do realize this might be a trial in of itself, correct?”

“Eh?”

“You’re perception of yourself is highly flawed. Even the strongest person in the world is not free from anger and fear. As I’ve said before, you are not exempt. Thinking that you are just makes you that more vulnerable to falling because they build up inside of you, swallowed down into your stomach where it brews and boils into a toxic concoction and when you can’t hold it back anymore, it will overwhelm you, poisoning your entire being until that anger, that hate, that fear is all you can feel. And you won’t know how to handle it, how to healthily express it. You will just tell yourself over and over again that this is not allowed to you, and eventually crack underneath that immense pressure.” 

Sliding his hands up Link’s cheeks, he cupped them gently, leaned even closer and whispered, “My love, perhaps this change in appearance is bringing to light the dark feelings inside of you but not for the reason you think. Perhaps this is a trial meant to teach you that these feelings are a part of you, that you will not be free of them and mayhap, this is meant to help you accept them, rather than shove them further away.”

“But I’m-!”

“Stop.” Sidon said firmly, “Link, look at your hands. Your skin is getting darker.”

Link obediently did so, holding his hands out in front of him. Without a doubt, the color of his skin had deepened considerably. A noticeable tremor immediately settled into Link’s body. Reaching down, Sidon closed one of his hands around Link’s while wrapping his other arm around Link’s back. Pulling him close, he whispered gently, “You’re denying a piece of yourself that is meant to be there. Love, this isn’t a test or a challenge of so called purity. It’s to bring to light that even heroes, even champions are allowed to feel like this. It will only get worse if you keep shoving these feelings down.”

Pressing closer to him, burying his head into Sidon’s shoulder, Link whispered shakily, “What if you’re wrong? What if my skin is getting darker because of how I’m feeling right now?”

“What are you actively trying to do right now, Link? You’re trying to deny these feelings and shove them away, are you not?”

Sidon took Link’s silence in response as a yes. Squeezing him tighter, he breathed, “If I’m wrong, then we’ll go from there. But this is the best explanation we have right now for what this could be, so wouldn’t it be best to go with this for now?”

“Say you are right, what do I do?” Link asked after a tense moment of silence. 

Pausing himself, Sidon thought for a short while before responding, “Weep.”

“What?”

“Weep.” He repeatedly softly, pulling back slightly from Link so he can look down at him, “You’re holding back tears as best you can and with every tear that falls, you clench your hold on your sadness, your fear even tighter. Let go, let yourself have this, let yourself go.”

“But-”

“For me, then.” Sidon interrupted him, cupping his face in his hands once more. Leaning down, he pressed a quick, soft kiss against Link’s lips, “Do it for me. Let me hold you in my arms and comfort you. There’s no one here but us, and you know that I will never think any less of you. So, please, Link.”

He thought for a moment that Link was going to further to deny his request; his mind immediately began racing with encouragements and arguments that would hopefully convince him when suddenly, to his relief, he heard the telltale sound of a sob. With his head bowed, Link stepped forward, pressed himself into Sidon’s chest, wrapped his arms around his broad back, barely even getting halfway around, and started to weep openly. 

Immediately encasing his precious little Hylian in his arms, Sidon sat down on the uneven ground, tugging Link along with him and into his lap. Squeezing him tightly, he lovingly stroked the back of his head and whispered soothingly into his ear, encouraging him to get it all out, to cry until he couldn’t anymore. Link’s back and shoulders heaved with the force of his crying; desperate, painful, coughing sobs ripped their way out of his throat. His fingernails dug into Sidon’s back, though not even with enough strength to hurt. Rather, it felt like he was holding onto Sidon for dear life, as though he were out in a tumultuous sea and Sidon was a saving grace, a piece of wood barely keeping him buoyant. He could feel tears and snot pooling on his skin, steaming down to his stomach but that bothered him none. In all truthfulness, it hurt so much to hear Link weep but, at the same time, he was so relieved that he was finally allowing himself to cry. 

The storm didn’t last long. One of such ferocious energy never did. Link’s sobs gradually quieted down to gasping hiccups. Brushing his fingers up and down his little Hylian’s spine, he waited patiently for all remnants to work themselves out. All the while, he whispered and cooed little nothings lovingly, peppering small, gentle kisses along the side of Link’s head, and along the length of his ear.

It took a while longer for Link to entirely calm down. Taking slow, deep breaths, sniffing hard occasionally, he remained in place, pressed close to Sidon before letting his arms slip away. Sidon felt him wipe his face with the back of his arm. Pressing his lips against the crown of Link’s head, he nuzzled him gently and asked, his voice muffled by his hair, “Feel better?”

“My head hurts.” Link responded softly. 

Chuckling, Sidon leaned back, “I’d imagine. But how do you feel?”

“Better.” He replied after a pause, “Better than I thought I would.”

Sidon could feel the tenseness in his shoulders vanish, relief rushing through his body. Smiling, he whispered, “I’m glad. Raise your head, let me see your face, my love.”

Sniffing hard once more, Link slowly obeyed, tilting his head back so he could look up at Sidon. Once their eyes met, Sidon’s eyes widened in surprise before his smile widened. Brushing Link’s hair out of his face, he said, “Looks like I was right.”

“Huh?”

“Your eyes, they’ve returned to normal.” He hadn’t expected such an immediate change but the eyes staring up at him were the blue eyes he knew and loved. The only hint of red remaining was what had obviously come from Link crying. 

Link’s eyes widened, his hands flying up to his face to touch his cheeks gingerly. Studying his face closely, Sidon discovered that the color of his eyes wasn’t the only thing that had changed: the duskiness of his skin had lightened as well. It wasn’t a significant change but still noticeable. He actually was somewhat surprised, however. In the back of his mind, he hadn’t really expected this to work, though he had tried to remain hopeful regardless. Despite his initial doubt, he was incredibly happy to find that Link was returning to normal and it seemed as though his intuition had been right. 

“It’s honestly back to normal?” Link asked breathlessly, relief evident in his voice. 

“Your eyes are as blue and beautiful as the day I met you.” Sidon replied. 

Link blinked hard several times before letting his hands fall down into his lap, “You were right.”

“It would seem so.” He said, reaching up to wipe away the residue of tears from one of his cheeks. 

His little Hylian was silent for several moments before asking, “What now?”

“I don’t know.” Sidon replied honestly, “Perhaps it would just be best for you to be honest with yourself and take the time to think this out.”

Wiping his nose on the sleeve of his shirt, Link sniffed hard once more, turned his head away slightly before glancing back up at him, “Can I stay with you?”

Leaning down to kiss his little Hylian firmly, Sidon breathed against his lips, “Of course, you’re place is by my side, after all. We’ll figure this out together, my love.”

Nodding slightly, he wiped away what was left of the tears away from his eyes with the heel of his hand. Sniffing softly, he asked, “Could we just stay like this for a while?”

Pulling Link close to his chest once more, Sidon curled his body protectively around his little Hylian, breathing in his scent deeply. Tucking his legs around Link’s, he cradled him close, comforted by the feel of his warmth, the sensation of his chest and shoulders moving slightly with the force of him breathing. Weaving his fingers through his soft, silky hair, he whispered, “Yes, for as long as you like.”

Snuggling even closer, relaxing completely into Sidon’s embrace, Link breathed out softly, “I’ll fall asleep on you.”

“I will carry you, in that case.” Placing a kiss against the top of his head, he continued, “Sleep, my little one.”

He felt Link nodded slightly against his chest before he fell still. Holding him close, thankful to just be able to embrace the one he loved, Sidon breathed in his scent, listened to the river running in the distant and wondered who he could thank for this trial. Though it had caused Link obvious distress, it was clear that this was something that needed to happen. All he could hope for now was that this would stick and he could encourage Link to be more gentle, more considerate of himself. Perhaps even, if he was lucky, he could also persuade Link into being a little more selfish, a little more demanding and he himself would be allowed to spoil him just a little bit more.


End file.
